WAKEFIELD, Mass., Feb. 21, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Operators worldwide recognize that they need to take a more customer-centric approach for monetizing advanced data services, and most plan to move to converged BSS in the coming two years.
Comverse® (Nasdaq:CMVT), a global leader in BSS, mobile Internet, and value-added services today disclosed the results of industry research undertaken with Heavy Reading, a leading independent research organization. The study surveyed 46 unique global operators.
"Subscribers are demanding more choice and control. They want plans tailored to their needs and reliable information on their data usage in real-time and the ability to set their own spending limits and threshold alerts," comments Heavy Reading Senior Analyst Ari Banerjee. "These are prerequisites to increased adoption of new data services."
With the increase of data consumption unmatched by operator revenues and profits, three-quarters of integrated fixed/mobile CSPs and 100% of MVNO respondents agree that more advanced data plans are essential for better monetization, the results showed. Offerings targeted to specific user groups and mechanisms that give subscribers effective, real-time control of their spending are seen as key to the desired customer-centric approach.
Unfortunately, operators feel constrained by shortcomings in their existing Business Support Systems (BSS). The hurdles most widely identified are lack of a unified offer management capability, lack of real-time transaction management ability, and lack of a unified view of subscribers and their services.
As a result, operators see a unified approach to converged BSS – including policy – as critical to overcoming today's challenges, and 64% of respondents say they plan "to adopt unified, converged BSS in the next 12 to 24 months," the findings reveal.
Over two-thirds of wireless operators surveyed see their slowness to go to market with new offers, inability to upsell in real-time and to offer users self-controlled spending limits as critical challenges affecting their competitiveness. There was nearly universal agreement that a unified approach to converged BSS and policy delivers important benefits that address these three shortcomings, while simultaneously improving cost and customer experience metrics.
The benefits viewed as most important are:
- Increased operational efficiency through unification
- Ability to deliver relevant, usage-driven offers
- Real-time credit control for postpaid subscribers
- Tight linkage/synchronization between charging and policy
- Centralized product/offer definition to speed time-to-market
- Rich customer care choices for prepaid subscribers
"The Comverse ONE® Converged BSS solution allows operators to accelerate time to market, lower costs through operational efficiency, and fully monetize new services – including advanced data. It is gratifying to see that CSPs broadly recognize the value of these benefits," said Roni Levy, Head of Comverse BSS. "The research results support our strategic direction and the importance of the capabilities we have built. The solution's unified policy management and enforcement capabilities are key enablers of the customer-centric approach that operators know they need to address the profitability of data services."
Click for more information about the Heavy Reading CSP survey, Comverse BSS with Policy Management and Policy Enforcement. To meet with Comverse at Mobile World Congress, contact yael.rohar@comverse.com.
About Heavy Reading
Heavy Reading is an independent research organization offering deep analysis of emerging telecom trends to network operators, technology suppliers, and investors. Its product portfolio includes in-depth reports that address critical next-generation technology and service issues, market trackers that focus on the telecom industry's most critical technology sectors, exclusive worldwide surveys of network operator decision-makers that identify future purchasing and deployment plans, and a rich array of custom and consulting services that give clients the market intelligence needed to compete successfully in the $4 trillion global telecom industry.
As a telecom research arm of the Light Reading Communications Network, Heavy Reading contributes to the only integrated business information platform serving the global communications industry. www.heavyreading.com
About Comverse
Comverse is the world's leading provider of software and systems enabling converged billing and active customer management, mobile Internet, and value-added services. Comverse's extensive customer base spans more than 125 countries and covers over 450 communication service providers serving more than two billion subscribers. The company's innovative product portfolio enables communication service providers to unleash the value of the network for their customers by making their networks smarter. Comverse's solutions support flexible deployment models, including in-network, cloud, hosted and managed services. Comverse, ranked number 55 in PwC's Global 100 Software Leaders based on research by Pierre Audoin Consultants, is a subsidiary of Comverse Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq:CMVT). For more information, visit www.comverse.com.
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Statements included or incorporated by reference in this press release may contain "forward-looking statements." There can be no assurance that any forward-looking statements will be achieved, and actual results could differ materially from forecasts and estimates. Important factors that could affect the company include the risks described in the section entitled "Forward-Looking Statements" Item 1A, "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2011 filed with the SEC on May 31, 2011 or in subsequently filed periodic, current or other reports. The company undertakes no commitment to update or revise forward-looking statements except as required by law.